WASHINGTON – On Thursday, February 29, Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice in President Biden’s cabinet for Americas more than 33 million small businesses attended a White House roundtable on Increasing Capital Access for Tribal Nations, alongside Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland, Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves, and Chief Lynn Malerba, chief of the Mohegan Tribe and the first Native American Treasurer of the United States.
At the roundtable, Administrator Guzman underscored the SBA’s commitment to increasing capital access for Native Americans as part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda. She discussed the recent expansion of the SBA’s lending network to include two new Native Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), raising the total number to eleven with plans for further growth. She also highlighted the new Small Business Lending Company (SBLC) license granted to a Native CDFI, McKinley Alaska Growth Capital, allowing them to expand their lending in indigenous communities nationwide.
Under the Biden-Harris Administration, total loans to Native-owned businesses are up 70%, and total loan dollars have almost doubled. The roundtable acknowledged that while significant progress has been made, there is still more work to be done as the Biden-Harris Administration strives to better serve Tribal communities.
For follow-up interview requests for Administrator Guzman, please contact Rebecca Galanti at Rebecca.Galanti@sba.gov.
###
About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.